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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   32440 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 7, 2025

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Don't fall for the propaganda here, the U.S. has worse outcomes on many metrics but a population that is more unhealthy and those worse metrics are driven by a social goal (you have the freedom to accept lifestyle diseases).

Super fair point.

When you get sick you are better off here than everywhere else in every way except the pay check.

This is kind of a large "but" given how much of a nightmare healthcare costs are to those who can't afford/have shitty insurance, but I do happily agree that the upper bound of USA healthcare quality is incredible, it's just a matter of having extended access to it...

Canada is notorious for this. I need major hip or knee surgery in the US and I can get it within the week, but Canada though? Months. People also die from cancer and other diseases or have worse morbidity because it takes awhile to be seen and treated.

Brother tell me about it. So far all my experiences (I do a lot of dangerous sports, so I've been to the ER far more than I would like) have been speedy and great, but I live in downtown Toronto and have a great family doctor, so I am pretty lucky in that way. My friends/their parents all have overall good experiences/timelines as well, but again, we're all educated white collar workers who live nearby to the largest agglomeration of healthcare resources in the nation.

The news stories and stats I see though.... Jesus Christ it's grim.

As my parents (and me! yikes!) get older I do find myself wondering if I should familiarize myself with USA v Canada "healthcare arbitrage". If I can get one of my parents an MRI in 1 week for $5,000 vs in 9 months for free when time is directly proportional to better outcomes, that's $5,000 I'd spend in a heartbeat.

Funnily enough, as MRI is the only example I actually know of for "things its worth going to the USA for". The one time I got an MRI, for in retrospect was a slightly frivolous diagnostic rule-out, I was scheduled for one a week after my ENT appointment. Although I am assuming that is Toronto-privilege, I bet if I was in Halifax that would not have been as fast.

If I can get one of my parents an MRI in 1 week for $5,000 vs in 9 months for free when time is directly proportional to better outcomes,

MRIs are only a few hundred in Mexico (City, Guadalajara etc.) They even accept walk ins. Random reddit link for random info.

But, you do realize you can go private in Canada, too and pay about 1k cad, right? Plenty of Americans go to Canada for private healthcare. Ilumina's in Toronto. In Buffalo, you're looking at about 500.

Good to know! Medical arbitrage is a fun game. Turkey is another one where the all in price of airfare+hotel+medical procedure can be cheaper than the north american sticker cost

I think it's a borderline scam, but some Turkish hospitals basically have all inclusive packages for plastic surgery/"""comprehensive""" medical scans/etc

For better or worse, Turkey is no longer "cheap" but equivalent to Paris. When the last wave of inflation was mid course (early 2022), you could rent a well-located flat in Istanbul for 200 usd. A favorite restaurant of mine went from 17 to 53 lira by May 2022. Later, leaving Ankara in 2024, coffees were approaching 200 lira, while the exchange rate had only gone from 30 to 38 lira : usd.

Various monuments and attractions went from free to charging 50 euro entrance fees (like the Hagia Sophia).

I did get a comprehensive medical scan for about 30 usd, even running on a treadmill with things taped to me and testing blood. I think they're less scams and more so trivial/brass tax if you're going to do a (serious) cosmetic surgery. Beyond that, I have no idea about medical tourism costs at different points; my partner did that in Iran. A friend was considering some sort of knee operation for about 2000 euro, though.

Yeah you can absolutely get some things done faster by heading over to the U.S. but keep in mind that the times where it's really useful (ex: cancer workup, need a new knee) it will become cost prohibitive and unreliable very quickly.

I assume the reality of the situation is Canada is not as bad as some of the stories would make it seem but those stories are still quite alarming.

It's also worth noting that while US care is expensive EMTALA and others things ensure you will get care for most types of maladies even if you become bankrupt afterwards. Many countries don't ensure this this outside the affluent west.

Mexico has western-standards dental work and elective surgeries for cheap. Cash only.

elective surgeries for cheap

Doubt on this front, the Western standard is for when things go wrong, which is rare - but if you get something like a T&A done in your 20s in a major academic hospital in the U.S. and have a major complication, you will likely be fine. In Mexico? No dice.

it will become cost prohibitive and unreliable very quickly.

It's a last resort to hedge against

those stories are still quite alarming.

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